Ladies’ Night Out @ Your Library

Leslie Schow at the Herriman Library in Utah queried Publib members for ideas about hosting a Ladies Lock-in at the Library. Kool & the Gang have addressed this issue in some detail :

But, the contributors to Publib also had some great suggestions and insight about what leads to the happiness of Locked-up Ladies :

Om

Just off the top of my head… How about a local Romance author visit? People from local salons/department store makeup staffs doing makeovers? Cooking demos? Ooh…ooh…yoga and stress relief exercise consultant doing a class? What a fun idea! ~ Mimi Morris – Dayton Metro

As an idea on that stress management suggestion….I did that. And for free. A local business, a wellness center located in town, came in and offered to do this for free for the staff, or for the public. They also have a nutritionist on staff who is going to do a seminar for free for us.

I’ve been planning on approaching some craft stores and seeing if they’d do a craft. And I have put out a press release asking for volunteers who would like to share their interests. I was hoping to start a knitting club, a chess club….I don’t know, something along those lines. I do have one volunteer who makes the most interesting photo books online from her digital photos. She’s going to bring them in and show us how she does it. ~ Lisa Cohn – Bloomfield Public Library

How about a self defense demo or safety tips, demos etc? Something to in-power the ladies. ~ Donna Cain

Hey, can’t they have a game night too. ~ Diedre Conkling – Lincoln County Library District

You could get someone in to do a water-color project or a pottery painting class. ~ Melodie Franklin – Lafayette Public Library

How about reading to the ladies? Love poetry so they will have something to take home to hubby who has been babysitting! ~ Anne Felix

Fix it!

They’ve had yoga, crafts, how to use tools (done by a staff member who is A Woman Who Uses Tools, and very knowledgeably), a presentation by someone from either B&N or Borders on what’s new and hot among popular books, Irish dancing, and things that I certainly can’t remember. There always are giveaways/door prizes, and also some really nice gift packages solicited from area merchants. There’s always food; I’m thinking maybe one of the planners who is interested in healthful eating found someone to do a program on organic foods, or something like that.

The event is always after closing on Fridays, and lasts for two-and-a-half hours. Because of space and all-around manageability, the top number of attendees, as I recall, is 35-40. The last couple of years people have been asked to make a $5 donation toward costs, and no one has complained. People have invited friends from othertowns/suburbs around Peoria. It’s always popular. “Lots of laughter” goes on, according to one of the staff members, in those very words.

… it’s always nice to hear someone who lives in another library’s territory say, “This is wonderful; they won’t DO one of these at MY library, because it isn’t really about libraries/literacy/books/reading/fill-in-the-blank.” Gives us an opportunity to feel smug and terribly superior…though with humble and modest mien(s), of course. ~ John Richmond – Alpha Park Library District